Saunders Lake Suggestions 7/2016
A health impediment prevents me from attending the open house planned for Aug.3rd, so I've taken the liberty of making an attempt to express in writing, my personal hopes for Saunders Lake to offer long term enjoyment of citizens for many years to come.
The first 10 year plan includes building up the earthen dam on the northern end of Saunders Lake to increase the depth of the lake by a further minimum of 10 feet. A new concrete spillway would be required to accommodate fish traffic & runoff. This would also require building up highway 623 similarly & adding a short bridge to allow boat traffic to pass without having to drop sail masts.
Reasonable compensation to landowners loosing land to the expanded area of the lake would have to be addressed. (10 year cropping value + typical developer price per acre?) An area 1 to two kilometers minimum from high water line of the enlarged lake should be reserved as parkland with agricultural land within this area allowed continuous use only for agricultural purposes until eventually turned over to parkland.
The importance of water to the city of Leduc and the County will increase in years to come---climate change, decreased snow melt in the Rockies, etc., and the increased holding capacity of Saunders Lake will serve to improve the water reservoir capacity of the region.
Attempts to commercialize the parkland area should be vehemently rejected. No franchises ever allowed!
Road access to the park should be limited to no more than two locations, both gated to entry where entry fees may be collected for automotive vehicles, camping or boat trailers, & motorized boats & RV's. Entry of pedestrians should remain to be free. Equestrian traffic may face an entry fee one-half of the fee for motorized devices. Fees for use of motorized 'recreational' devices in the park could be based upon displacement or horsepower and rated to discourage safety hazards, pollution and noise potentials.
($25. entrance for a 50 hp outboard??)
Two low maintenance park buildings would allow for County administration purposes & indoor warmup & picnicking accommodation plus public washrooms. (Ski lodge similarity). Additional buildings may be allowed to store & maintain park equipment. Solar powered heat pumps utilizing lake water should adequately provide needed heat for the facilities. Electricity, water & sewage hookup will be necessary at entrance areas.
The park's potential would include many opportunities for the betterment of society, & hopefully result in reducing expenditures on policing, courtroom activities, detox facilities, detention facilities, vandalism, healthcare costs – obesity, lack of fitness, unaffordable recreational facility costs, etc.
A non-inclusive listing of some of the potential benefits the expanded & improved Saunders Lake park could offer, might include the following:
Wildlife preserve. Recreational fishing Boating
Canoeing Scuba diving Sailing
Swimming Sandy beach Ice sailing
Skating Cross Country Skiing Skidoo trails
RV trails Nature trails Equestrian trails
Overnight camping Day picnic areas Bicycle trails
Downhill ski & toboggan runs Competitive/featured events Reforestation
Ecological enlightenment Environment Awareness courses School tours
Persons attending or participating in park activities should be entitled to free entry. Motorized vehicles/boats/rv's, trailers & horses should be required to pay a daily entry charge.
In order to control county bureaucratic costs, activities of county employees should be restricted to handling fee collections & development/maintenance activities, & approving schedules of planned volunteer run events to minimize adverse effects on others. There should be no need for any county expenditures on promotions, advertisements or hired consultants.
The loss of more agricultural productive land to residential or industrial use needs to be severely curbed. It's hoped that County counsellors will have the foresight to realize they've already overstepped the awards given developers who seem to ignore service toward societal benefits. Lots & lots of room for building up! What's the potential lifespan of planners, administrators, consultants & developers fed on a diet of fresh 100 dollar bills garnished with toonies?
For what its worth.
Vern Bretin 780 986 1067
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